Antiseptic mattress-filling.



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ATTILIO MAGGIA, F BRESSEO, PAIDU'A, ITALY.

ANTISEPTIC MATTRESS-FILLING.

No Drawing.

subject of the King of Italy, residing at Bresseo, Padua, in the Kingdom of Italy,

have invented a certain new and useful Im provement in Antiseptic Mattress-Filling, of which the following is a specification.

As is known the various products developing in corpses presentthe property of being able to corrode even zinc so that liquids and gases percolate which are invariably unpleasant and which may sometimes act prejudicially. It is also known that an excessive development of gases arising from decomposition may even cause the coflin to burst and as a result lead to the speedy and copious discharge of harmful substances and even the transmission of illness. Such spreading of gases and liquids may also arise in the vaults of the galleries of churches or of family graves even when they have been carefully cemented up.

Vith the methods hitherto adopted it is not possible to defer the isolation of. the corpse either in the case of ordinary burial or in the case of removal from hospitals or in cases of death on board ship, owing to the danger that the coffin remaining in the room may permit of the escape of poisonous gases which may possibly be vehicles for the conveyance of infection, while on the other hand the decomposition of the corpse which arises sooner or later in the usual sarcophagus, even after the lapse of a short period of time, renders it impossible for the medico-legal authorities to identify a corpse if this should become necessary, so that the argument urged against cremation applies in such cases also.

The object of the present invention is to overcome these difliculties by causing the liquid or gaseous products liberated from a corpse in process of decomposition to be absorbed. The method by means of which this result is attained is as follows: The corpse is placed in the zinc shell having previously placed upon the bottom thereof a mattress which in the case of adults should contain 12 kg. of wood shavings mixed with permanganic acid and 1 kg. of naphthalene and 200 gr. of potash, in order to facilitate the discharge of the formalin vapors from those portions of the liquid which flow from the corpse directly onto the mattress. If

- desireda suitable quantity of antiseptic solution may be injected into the corpse, for

Specification of Letters Patent. P t t A 17, 1915,

Application-filed July 3. 1913.

Serial No. 777,258.

i example approximately 2000 grams in the case of adults and 1000 grams in the case of children. An appropriate antiseptic solution is as follows: 1000 grams of solution of formalin, 85 gr. of alcohol at.95 Baum, 10 gr. camphor, 6 gr. of thymol. This injection is made in a single operation in the middle of the line between the laryngeal cavity and the genital parts and the injection is made radially in such a manner that the 'liquid is distributed uniformly throughout all the cavities of the breast and abdomen. Similarly a small portion of the said antiseptic liquid is injected into the brain through one of the eye sockets. This first treatment in conjunction with that which will now be described serves particularly for preserving or mummifying the corpse. The clothing and the winding sheet may also be impregnated therewith and the corpse then covered with a layer of impermeable fabric which completely incloses it, so that the vapors which are developed are collected around the corpse. The zinc coflin or shell is then soldered up as prescribed by the police regulations and it is then placed in a box which is proof against air, moisture, water and fire preferably in a box of cement lined with amianth in the form of a parallelepiped. This cement colfin comprises lateral handles with fixed transverse bars and round peripheral rabbets in which a smooth lid is inserted and firmly united with the cement coffin by means of a cementing substance so that it forms a whole with the impermeable block in such a manner that the latter is able to withstand the internal gas and vapor pressure. Bands or strips of metal might be passed around the receptacle and united with the reinforcing members of the cement mass. In this manner the vapors of the antiseptic liquid are utilized as they readily penetrate the animal tissues and there exert their anti-putrefaction effect effectually and at the same time produce a progressive hardening until gradually in course of time petrifaction is almost attained. In this manner the preservation of corpses for an unlimited time is insured by keeping them in a hermetically closed space or chamber strongly saturated with the vapors of the said antiseptic liquid. The wrappings of the corpse (clothing, winding sheet and so forth) are moistened with this putrefaction preventing liquid and the mattress filled With highly absorbent substances Which is placed beneath the corpse is adapted to absorb the aqueous matter flowing from the corpse. In this manner the process of putrefaction, even if advanced, is at once checked as a speedy drying and hardening of the tissues is obtained when they are ekposed to the air after they have remained for a period of approximately 15 days under the actionof the active vapors.

It Will of course bevunderstood that the method can be modified in anyway which does not depart from the scope of the invention.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is v 1. An antiseptic mattress filling for use 3. An antiseptic mattress filling forllse in the preservation of corpses comprising in combination 12 kg. wood shavings, 1 kg. permanganic acid 1 kg. of naphthalene and 200 gr. of potash.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of tWo Witnesses.

V ATTILIO MAGGIA.

Witnesses:

ARHLAR FU'BLIN, ENGLIOHNO R svm.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, I). C. V g 

